/lit/ - Literature

>>11350232
Why would anyone buy the Penguin classics over their Oxford counterparts? Penguin has garbage paper and terrible bindings. No contest, white my boy.

always white

If it ain't white it ain't right.

>>11350232
As someone who owns and has read many Penguins: white. Oxford is just better quality for practically the same price. Don't let Penguin screw you over.

penguin and oxford are both trash who else /bnmasterrace/

As a rule of thumb I prefer Oxford. But I will generally check both editions and see if there might be some reason to prefer the Penguin instead, e.g. extra content, text edition, translation.

>>11350232
[insert nigger joke here]

>>11350273
The War and Peace version of this in my local Chapters looks like it was run over by the truck that delivered it, and they still leave it on the shelf thinking someone is going to buy it.
I handled some of the others and they just feel completely flimsy and ready to fall apart, especially the more pages there are.
Is that the consensus, or where the examples I saw not the norm?

>>11350237
>Why would anyone buy the Penguin classics over their Oxford counterparts?

Every once in a while Penguin will have the better translation.

>>11350273
too flashy

>>11350273
>Being overpriced public domain trash is ok as long as it has a pretty cover.
ewwwwww

>>11350292
This. I found that I enjoyed penguin’s translation of St. Augustine’s Confessions much more than the oxford.

>>11350232
I normally pick Oxford World Classics, especially if the text is originally in English. I've got nothing against Penguin, so if they have a better edition I'll take that instead.

If it’s avaliable in the Oxford edition, I usually get that one (better scholarly intros, quality, translations, and cover art). But penguin seems to carry more books in there catalogue.

>>11350232
white

>>11350273
7/10 bait

>>11350232
>judging a book by its cover

>>11350310
my nigga

>>11350302
theyre books, not cars you fucking doofus.

Oxford looks better, lasts longer, and usually has better trannys.

>>11350273
beautiful. that dracula book is particularly epic

>>11350237
Penguin has Japanese/Chinese classic books, with plenty of details and notes about them. For example, The Story of Stone has a family tree and pronunciation notes.

>>11350551
>not judging a book by its cover

>>11350574
>looks better, lasts longer
whitey delusions

face it, your flimsy little flaccid paperback can't compete with BASED BIG BLACK RIBBED BN (as in, BIG NEGRO) CLASSIC MASTER RACE

>>11350232
it's easier to import penguin in my country

>>11350291
thats the norm. but sometimes theyre on sale for 5 bucks a pop which is still too much but not terrible
t. bnamaguy

>>11350273
Tacky as fuck.

>>11350701
>buying non-LOA anthologies
i vomited

The Oxford ones might have terrific annotations, but the overall quality of the print and paper is dreadful. Are these your standard for paperbacks in UK and the USA?

>>11350551
>not knowing that different editions have different translations and notes.

My personal favourite publisher is Everyman's library but they are hardbacks so I can understand why others wouldn't like them.

But I rate them very highly

Yeah I picked team Everyman

>>11350232
I have a few of the black ones but I only buy the white as new, if ever.

>>11350889
>>11350882
The pages in those feel so heavy and pristine, that Im almost reluctant to place my oily germy fingers on them.

>>11350901
You only touch the paper to turn the page. It's not a big deal dude

>>11350273
are all the pages wacky colors or is it just the edges?

>>11350889
Hey Dude, why did you take your covers of War and Peace? I kept mine on but they do look nice without.

>>11350901
Yeah the whole thing is really high quality, I'm always cautious since I did ruin some of my paperbacks by not caring for them

>Not collecting and reading musty old Reader's Digest condensed books

I feel bad for you guys

>>11350889
>P&V
REEE

>>11350933
That shelf is as bad as this

>>11350933
I agree with below Anon, however I at least believe that the faggot who has a reader's digest book shelf has read his books.

>>11350943

However this faggot, I don't believe has read a single one of them other than maybe the start wars book

>>11350889
I love everyman but unless close up and well-lit, some of the spines are hard to read.

#TEAMNYRB WHO UP

>>11351111
I don't have much against NYRB. Their spines don't looks that great at all, but their paper quality and heft are really nice. Acid free paper is always a plus.

A CHALLENGER APPEARS

>>11351183
Get out

>>11351111
The problem with NYRB in this case would be their extremely limited range of titles. That don't publish classics as much as eclectic gems so if you only bought them you'd be missing out on most of the most important works in human history.

>>11350232
Oxford is the obvious choice

>>11351218
Is anyone autistic enough to actually only buy from one publisher though?

>>11351240
Isn't that what this thread is about?

>>11351267
Maybe.

Penguin often have footnotes, whilst all Oxfords have endnotes. Penguin for me lads.

>>11350232
>The Black or White Pleb
>The Red and Green Patrician

>>11350232
Oxford's are better but this is silly and you're an autistic faggot.

>>11351185

>>11351420
these fuckers are expensive

>>11351454

Gotta get them all though

>>11350310
>My Oxford version of Confessions just arrived yesterday
What's the difference between them? Reviews I saw made it sound like the O version was a lot more poetic and understandable

>>11350701
I like the look of some of those, but the bigger ones get ridiculous. My Lovecraft one is so big it's unwieldy to read, and the leather stuff in the corners is coming undone.

>>11351420
>bought the first half of the Aeneid for $25
>get the pocket version in the mail
yikes

>>11350292
this, though i find generally that Oxford have better translations and introductions and whatnot

>>11351420
post Loebs that you own and have read or you are a fraud and a pseud.

>>11350933
What the fuck am I looking at?

I am redpiled so white

glad you could finally join us to make that great joke that nobody here thought of immediately upon seeing the thread anon

>>11350232
>Oxford World Classics - WHITE
>Penguin Books - BLACK
there are more things in heaven and earth, anon, than are dreamt of in your philosophy

>>11350232
Why not both?

>>11351808
Autism and OCD.

hmmmmm

I know what matters in the end is the text but why aren't authors more involved in the cover creation process?
Why don't publishers stick to fist edition covers or at least consistently reissue editions with first edition covers?
I know how to answer these questions but it pisses me off. Why isn't the physical whole of the book as an art piece - a thing?

>>11350917
You think the actual pages are coloured or something? Fucking retard...

>>11351831
good luck finding that edition, but if you do lol $500 minimum

>>11352104
N-no, of course not...

>>11351915
because (except for a few superstars) authors are at the mercy of their publishers
the publishers will do whatever they think is going to get the most attention and sell the most copies
this changes over time

>>11350273
patrician

>>11350232
>classics of color versus classics of light

>>11350292
Emphasis on "Every once in a while"

>>11351831
>>11351831
what book this is

>>11350237
Penguin is much softer though and feels a lot better. Very comfy indeed, but still they got nothing on Vintage(not classics).

>>11350232
oxfords, penguins are for pseuds

>>11352631
agree penguin comfy

Oxford, pic related is what I just got recently. Good choice for romance literature?

>>11352663
I'm pissed because I misplaced this and my penguin Confessions from a few years back

Penguin for literature
Oxford for stuff you'd want a scholary approach to (like philosophy or anthropology works)

>>11352663

>>11351098
Only thing I don't like about them is that the label wears off on the hand, although it's not so egregious for 600-ish page books (albeit on the first read only). My most worn book was Don Quixote, it was also my first, so I learned and handle them a little differently now (maybe hold it closer to the bottom than in the middle of the spine, read sitting at a table or desk so the book is laying down rather than being handled, and etc.). Small price to pay though for otherwise phenomenal quality.

>>11350551
HAHAHAHAHAH THIS IDIOT

>>11350943
I really like how that shelf looks though

>>11351218
That's not the least of what's wrong with buying exclusively that publisher, or of any publisher. What's as bad or worse is how telling it is of how superficial they are.

>>11352607
Finnegans Wake

>>11351831
fucking amazing i would buy that if it was 50 shades of grey

>>11351831
>reprint never
fucking goddamned niggers

>>11351183
move over you salad fingered fuck. Random house is the best version

>>11353328

>>11350943
It's offensive that Dan Brown is a part of that collection.

>>11350917
I don't think you're dumb
considering how bad the books look, the pages being coloured is only one step further

>>11350847
i honestly couldn't even read one of those editions, i would be so embarrassed

>>11351487
you are a fucking moron for buying that shit, no right to complain about it

>>11351183

>>11350273
BnM's Lovecraft collection is actually p. decent.

>>11353587
>bn
>genre fiction
>reddit genre fiction
f i l t e r e d

>>11350701
>Charles Dickens
>five novels
>expecting that book to be transportable at all

>>11353589
Sorry I am so high right now actually

>>11353597
>drugs
>phoneposting
f i l t e r e d

>>11353589
differentiating between "genre fiction" and "literary fiction" is retarded

>>11353632
t.

>>11353676
whats the difference between the two then, something that isnt "me like this book me dont like that book"

>>11353681
genre fiction adheres to a stricter format and usually maintains interest through means other than quality prose or an interesting narrative. It appeals to nonexistent forces, whether it is magic, superhuman ability, or far advanced technology to maintain interest.
It can still be achieve literary value but there is a certain stigma attached it has to overcome other stories/novels do not.

Is epic poetry a genre?

>>11353701
>It can still be achieve literary value but there is a certain stigma attached it has to overcome
so literally no difference besides pseuds not liking it because it has the fucking audacity to have sci-fi / fantasy or whatever elements

>>11353704
sort of? history is a genre but i wouldn't classify as genre fiction
genre fiction is derided b/c it uses gimmicks to maintain interest, epic poetry does not

>>11353712
Gimmicks like what? Seems like what is a gimmick and what is not can be decided pretty arbitrarily.

>>11353717
maybe it's arbitrary but it's thrillers/romance/scifi/fantasy/mystery/horror
i think a better definition is that in genre fiction the genre dictates the work instead of the work being classified as such afterwards

>>11353724
>thrillers/romance/scifi/fantasy/mystery/horror
Are you saying these are gimmicks? What?

>i think a better definition is that in genre fiction the genre dictates the work instead of the work being classified as such afterwards
But then a lot of epic poetry is definitely genre fiction. Virgil, Dante, Tasso and others set out to write epic poems specifically, took influence and borrowed from earlier ones.

>>11353467
given its popularity it's sure to get a reprint eventually right? right?

>>11353367
Superficial? Most of the titles are kinda interesting.

>>11353589
>>11353701
>>11353681
all fiction has a genre

>>11353789
What I mean is that people who collect that publisher EXCLUSIVELY do it only because it looks pretty.

>>11353606
I'm on my desktop tho

>>11350273

>How lower class people that haven't read a book since high school think books should look like

Heh young un, while you were deciding between black and white, I had already chosen the rainbow.

>>11353804
There really can't be that many people who would do such a thing, realistically.

>>11353855
I don't know, I collected Goosebumps as a kid because they looked cool and never read a single one. My poor mom's wallet..., but it is a valid marketing strategy.

>>11350232
I find Oxfords more enriching, with better translations and more additional material. I have their Menander collection and the notes included were very edifying.
I have a lot of penguins just to have whatever title on my shelf, but I usually get more out of Oxfords and I find their covers/bindings more aesthetically pleasing as well.

>>11353870
People who only buy a book if its from a certain publisher aren't worthy of thought anyway.

>>11353870
>I collected Goosebumps as a kid because they looked cool and never read a single one
same, i still have all of them. I did read the choose your scare or whatever ones though, those were the shit

>>11350943
>Star Wars

TEAM PEEP

>>11350232
OX GANG OX GANG OX GANG OX GANG OX GANG OX GANG OX GANG OX GANG OX GANG OX GANG OX GANG OX GANG OX GANG OX GANG OX GANG

>>11350568
Sorry I didn't see your reply.
Exactly, dumbfuck